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December 1, 2003 Eippendix .4 Page A-9 <br />Any proposed surface facilities, disturbances or activities (as noted above) in or adjacent to <br />these buffer zones will require approval from the surface management agency (BLM or <br />USFS) on asite-specific basis, after consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service. <br />Criterion 12 <br />Bald and golden eagle roost and concentration areas on federal lands used during migration and <br />wintering shall be considered unsuitable. <br />Analvsis <br />CDOW has mapped the area, approximately one-half mile on either side of the North Fork of the <br />Gunnison, as a concentration area for wintering bald eagles. <br />No bald or golden eagle roost sites are known to exist on federal lands within the review area. <br />Wintering bald eagles use the uplands in the review area sporadically for foraging. <br />With respect to bald eagle concentration areas, or bald and golden eagle roost sites which may <br />be established on the review area during the life of the project the following special stipulation <br />shall be applied: <br />1. No surface activity except subsidence shall occur within one-quarter mile radius of winter <br />roosts between November 15 and March 15, development may be permitted at other <br />periods. If periodic visits are required within the buffer zone after development, activity <br />should be restricted to the hours of 10:00 am and 2:00 pm from November 15 through <br />March 15. <br />2. No surface activities, except subsidence, may occur within the bald eagle winter <br />concentration area between the dates of December 1 through April 15 unless approved <br />by the Authorized Officer, after consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. <br />Criterion 13 <br />Federal lands containing a falcon (excluding kestrel) cliff nesting site with an active nest and <br />buffer zone of federal land around the nest site shall be considered unsuitable. Consideration of <br />availability of habitat for prey species and of terrain shall be included in the determination of <br />buffer zones. Buffer zones shall be determined in consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service. <br />Exception. A lease may be issued where the surface management agency, after consultation <br />with the Fish and Wildlife Service, determines that all or certain stipulated methods of coal <br />mining will not adversely affect the falcon habitat during the periods when such habitat is <br />used by the falcons. <br />Analvsis <br />No falcon cliff nesting sites are known to exist on federal lands within the review area. Available <br />cliff sites for nesting within the review area are short, and atypical of the cliff sites being selected <br />by peregrine and prairie falcons for nesting elsewhere in the local area. <br />Criterion 14 <br />Federal lands which are high priority habitat for migratory bird species of high federal interest on <br />a regional or national basis, as determined jointly by the surface management agency and the <br />Fish and Wildlife Service, shall be considered unsuitable. <br />Lnvnenmentai Assessment <br />West t=iaiimn LL'A Tract <br />Gunnison County, Colorado <br />